Jenolan Caves

The Jenolan Caves (Tharawal: Binoomea, Bindo, Binda) are limestone caves located within the Jenolan Karst Conservation Reserve in the Central Tablelands region, west of the Blue Mountains, in Jenolan, Oberon Council, New South Wales, in eastern Australia. The caves and reserve are situated approximately west of Sydney, east of and west of Katoomba ( by road). Dating back to 340million years ago, it is the oldest known and dated open cave system in the world.

The caves are the most visited of several similar groups in the limestone caves of the country, and the most ancient discovered open caves in the world. They include numerous Silurian marine fossils and the calcite formations, sometimes pure white, are noted for their beauty. The cave network follows the course of a subterranean section of the Jenolan River. It has more than of multi-level passages and over 300 entrances. The complex is still being explored. The caves are a tourist destination, with eleven illuminated show caves open to paying visitors.

The caves and conservation reserve are one of the eight protected areas that was inscribed in 2000 to form part of the UNESCO World Heritage-listed Greater Blue Mountains Area. The Jenolan Karst Conservation Reserve is the most westerly of the eight protected areas within the World Heritage Site. The reserve forms part of the Great Dividing Range and was listed on the (now defunct) Register of the National Estate in 1978. The Jenolan Caves are listed on the Australian National Heritage List.

Etymology

The word Jenolan is believed to be an indigenous word for "high place"; The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) in association with the University of Sydney and the Australian Museum lead the efforts in scientific research into the caves.

Indigenous culture

For thousands of years, the Jenolan area has been part of the culture of local indigenous peoples. The area holds significance to the Gundungurra and Wiradjuri peoples, who knew it as Binomil or Bin-oo-mur, and a variety of similar names.

European discovery

There are no known contemporaneous accounts of the discovery of the caves by Europeans – though Charles Whalan is attributed as the first to conduct visitors to the caves in the 1840s. However, in Charles Whalan's obituary and other sources, credit for the caves' discovery is given to his brother, James Whalan. Though most accounts were written some decades after the initial discovery, and differ somewhat in the details, it is generally accepted that in 1838 (or possibly 1841), James Whalan was in pursuit of an ex-convict and active local thief named McKeown, who had stolen livestock, tools, clothing and a flour grinder, was tracked to the area. In this pursuit, James Whalan discovered the cave system and reported its existence to his brother Charles – who further explored the caves.

The caves, originally known as the Fish River Caves, came under the control of the NSW Government in 1866—becoming only the second area in the world reserved for the purpose of conservation. The following year, Jeremiah Wilson was appointed as the first "Keeper of the Caves". The first recorded passage of the completed bridle track from Katoomba to Jenolan was by the Governor, Lord Carrington, in September 1887. Lord Carrington also made the first official visit to the caves at the completion of his journey, accompanied by Wilson.

In 1898 the current Jenolan Caves House was built, replacing the earlier wooden accommodation house built by Jeremiah Wilson, which had been partially destroyed in 1895 by fire.

J. C. (Voss) Wiburd became "Keeper of the Caves" in 1903 and discovered (with fellow guide and friend Jack Edwards) five more caves within eighteen months: the River, Pool of Cerberus, Temple of Baal, Orient and Ribbon Caves. He remained Keeper until 1932, when he left due to the Government's policy at the time of compulsory retirement at the age of 65.

The Chifley Cave, originally known as the Left Imperial Cave, was renamed in 1952 in honour of Ben Chifley, the Federal local member of parliament and former Prime Minister, who had died the previous year. In 1968, the Orient Cave became the first in the world to be cleaned, due to contamination by mud from the previous access route and a nearby coal boiler. The soot from the boiler was entering the cave via a new tunnel blasted 400 feet through to the Orient cave in 1954 to allow easier access (entering at Bat End). Steam cleaning was found to be damaging to the crystal formations, due to the rapid expansion and contraction caused by the heat from the steam, and these days water from the caves' own underground rivers is used if cave cleaning becomes necessary.

Since 2011, the CSIRO in association with the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation began using a new hand-held mapping system to map some of the caves in three-dimensional detail.

Caves

Large portions of this extensive cave system are accessible only to experienced cavers, especially those areas along the underground river system.

Eleven show caves have been developed for regular tourism and are open to the public.

{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"

|+ List of show caves accessible to the public

! scope="col" rowspan="2" | Cave name

! scope="col" rowspan="2" | European discovery

! scope="col" rowspan="2" | Image

! scope="col" rowspan="2" | Accessibility

! scope="col" rowspan="2" | Lighting

! scope="col" rowspan="2" | Description

! scope="col" rowspan="2" | Source(s)

| Lucas

| 1860

| Popular among visitors

| LED

|align="left"| Named in honour of John Lucas MP who pushed to have the caves preserved in the 1860s, this cave features a number of large chambers including the cathedral, over high, and the vast Exhibition Chamber which contains the Broken Column formation. Due to its size and acoustics, the Cathedral Chamber is also used for wedding ceremonies and recitals.

| River

| 1903

| 100px

| Extensive show cave; most strenuous

| LED

|align="left"| Includes some of its most famous features, including the Minaret, the Grand Column and the Queen's Canopy, as well as part of the River Styx. Until 1923 when a concrete bridge was built, a section of river in this cave was crossed by a small boat.

|Chifley

| 1880

| 100px

| Extensive show cave

| LED

|align="left"| The Chifley Cave was the first cave in the world to be lit by electric light, in 1880. Two of the cave's chambers are still decorated with historic coloured lights.

| Imperial

| 1879

| 100px

| Easy for tourists

| LED

|align="left"| The Imperial contains some of the best fossil deposits and several Tasmanian devil bones. Note that while fossils may not be clearly evident to the casual visitor, in fact, the bedrock in which the caves are formed is richly endowed with marine fossils.

| Orient

| 1904

| 100px

| Opened in 1917

| LED

|align="left"| This cave contains some of the grandest formations in the complex and was steam cleaned to preserve them in 1968. Until 1954, this cave, along with the Temple of Baal and Ribbon Caves, were only accessible through the River Cave. That year, the Binoomea Cut was constructed near Caves House to facilitate easier access to these caves. An LED-based lighting system was installed in this cave in 2009.

| Ribbon

| 1904

| LED

|align="left"| The Ribbon Cave is long and is richly decorated. This cave is known for particularly good examples of 'ribbon' helictites.

| Pool of Cerberus

| 1903

| LED

|align="left"| This cave is a lower arm of the River Cave. The major formations here are the Bath of Venus and part of the underground river system that forms the Pool of Cerberus itself. It also includes rare aragonite formations.

| Jubilee

| 1893

| LED

|align="left"| The Jubilee Cave is the longest show cave at Jenolan. It takes the longest amount of time to visit as it is fairly remote from the other caves. Of the caves shown at Jenolan to the public it is the least visited due to the length of the tour and the small tour groups that can be taken there.

| Temple of Baal

| 1904

| 100px

| LED

|align="left"| This cave consists of only two large chambers, one of which is dominated by the huge 9-metre shawl formation called the Angel's Wing. The cave is also noted for a high incidence of the peculiar formations known as Helictites. The name derives partly from the biblical story of Baal and other more obscure ancient mythology. The feature names in the cave also partly relate to the biblical story, as well as Esoteric Freemasonry. Recent 2006 development work has upgraded the lighting and added an audio accompaniment to the cave experience.

| Nettle Cave

| 1838

| 100px

| Selfguided audio tour

| LED

|align="left"| The Nettle Cave lies between the Grand Arch and the Devils Coach House. The cave takes its name from the nettles which grow near its entrance (note that raised walkways protect visitors from their stings); an upper part of this cave can be seen from inside the Devil's Coach House. Originally shown as a guided tour, the cave was closed to the public in 1932 and re-opened in 2006, combined with the adjoining Devil's Coach House. The Nettle Cave hosts "Crayfish backs", stromatolites shaped by cyanobacteria, light and wind. They are estimated to be at least 20,000 years old. Due to rock falls (made more probable by drought, according to the cave guides) the easy access path from the Grand Arch to the Devil's Coach House is currently closed. The open cave is best accessed via a 270-stair descent from the Carlotta Carpark.

| The Grand Arch

| 1838

| colspan=2|Assembly point for tours

|align="left"| The road from Sydney passes through the Arch and six of the cave tours leave from assembly points within it. Adjacent to the Grand Arch is the Devil's Coach House, a vast open-ended chamber that forms part of the many nature walks in the area. High above both of these is Carlotta Arch, a free-standing arch that is all that remains of a higher cavern system long since eroded and collapsed. Along with these areas, there are several other caves in the area, some of which are available for special tours.

| Elder Cave

| 1848

| Adventure caving

|align="left"| Named from the Elder tree, visitors would climb down to enter the doline (sinkhole). The Elder Cave was the first of the caves at Jenolan to be found and opened to tourists. It was later considered too difficult to develop adequately and tours eventually ceased; however, in the late 1990s, the Elder Cave was re-opened for adventure caving, and is sold as the Plughole Tour. It is not as decorated as the regular show caves, but features signatures left by early visitors and includes a short section of the Imperial Cave.

| Aladdin Cave

| 1897

|align="left"| The Aladdin Cave was first explored in the hope of developing a shorter path to the Jubilee Cave. It has similar decorations to the Jubilee Cave.

| Jersey Cave

| 1891

|align="left"| An extension of the Elder Cave. One of the features is a fossilised thylacine skeleton.

| Arch Cave

| 1838

|align="left"| This cave lies above Nettle Cave and part of it can be seen from the Devils Coach House. The entrance to this cave is at the base of Carlotta Arch (hence the name) and the stairs and locked gate can still be reached although the Arch Cave.

Tourism

The Jenolan Caves are located three hours' drive from Sydney and Canberra. Private coach companies operate day tours from Sydney and from Katoomba railway station. There is no public transport to Jenolan Caves. The caves attract over 250,000 visitors a year, making it one of the most popular tourist locations in rural New South Wales, and has won numerous tourism awards.

Historically the caves were only accessible via the Six Foot Track, a 45-kilometre-long bridle trail from Katoomba established in 1884. This trail became disused in the early 1900s after new roads were built in the area, but was reopened as a bushwalking track in 1984. It is now one of the most popular overnight bushwalks in the Blue Mountains area.

Ten of the area's "dark caves" are open for regular guided tours every day (1 to 2 hours per tour). These show cave tour sizes vary. For example, the delicate Pool of Cerberus Cave can have only 8 on a tour, while the Lucas Cave (with its large chambers) can have up to 65 people per tour.

Tours vary in difficulty. Imperial Cave, for example, has the fewest stairs, while the River Cave is the most strenuous. The average tourist can tour any of these show caves.

A self-guided tour of the huge Nettle Cave/Devils Coach House is also available. The self-guided tour gives visitors a choice of many languages. One of the choices on the self-guided tour is an Aboriginal culture commentary.

Night tours are currently only available to guests of The Grand Genolan Cave House. Sometimes, on Saturday nights they take guests on guided tours through caves that are not available to day-visitors.

Several undeveloped caves are available for adventure caving (2-hour to all-day tours). These adventure caving tours include the Plughole Tour, which runs daily and includes basic abseiling. Other more challenging adventure caving tours are available.

The Cathedral Chamber, part of the "Lucas Cave" is famous for its acoustics. Underground concerts take place in this chamber. Concerts also take place in the Grand Arch, including the annual 'Carols in the Caves', which raises money for charity.

During school holidays, specially developed tours are available for children. Jenolan Caves has long been a popular destination for school excursions.

The whole of Jenolan Caves will be closed for at least 18 months starting from 15 July 2024. The reasons given only reveal part of the problems with the care, control and management of the Jenolan Karst Conservation Reserve.

Jenolan Caves House

Tourists visiting Jenolan Caves can stay at the heritage-listed Jenolan Caves House. It was designed in 1897 by government architect Walter Liberty Vernon as a resort or retreat for the wealthy. To cater for the expectations of the well-to-do, Vernon included a ballroom and grand dining room, now Chisolm's Restaurant. Chisolm's is open for dinner every day, serving modern Australian cuisine. Facilities include an hotel/motel complex, self-contained cottages, restaurant, bar, and cafe.

Heritage listing

On 25 June 2004 Jenolan Caves Reserve (excluding the caves) were listed on the New South Wales State Heritage Register for its historical, aesthetic, research and rarity values, with the following inscription:

The caves and karst landscapes developed as important scientific and tourist destinations throughout the late 19th and 20th centuries, and the Reserve is highly significant as the first public reserve set aside in NSW for the protection of a natural resource - in this case, the Jenolan Caves.

Jenolan is one of the most important areas of natural and cultural history in Australia. The area includes one of the largest and most beautiful interconnected cave systems in Australia and is an outstanding site of geological and speleological interest. The Jenolan River, Blue Lake and a system of intimate valleys and watercourses provide a magnificent setting for a distinctive range of native vegetation and fauna. The Caves Reserve was created in 1866, six years before the declaration of the world's first National Park. Since its reported discovery by James Whalan between 1838 and 1841 the area has attracted more than three million visitors. Caves House, and its associated outbuildings, adds to the area's cultural significance. The area also contains a number of important industrial relics, including Australia's first hydro-electric power station and the remnants of the first electric lighting of caves which was installed in the Chifley Cave in 1887.

|date=August 2014

Gallery

The Entrance, Fish River Caves a1528190u.tif|Possibly the earliest-surviving image of the Grand Arch of Jenolan Caves, known in 1861 as Fish River Caves

Nettle cave.jpg|The entrance to Nettle Cave, circa 1888

Image:Caves House, Jenolan Caves - Jeno0001.jpg|Caves House, Jenolan

Image:Blue_Lake_at_Jenolan_Caves.JPG|Blue Lake, Jenolan

Image:View through Carlotta Arch, Jenolan Caves - Jeno0003.jpg|View through Carlotta Arch, Jenolan

Adventure-Caving-at-Jenolan-Caves.jpg|Challenge seekers can do adventure caving at Jenolan

Close up of some small shawls.jpg|Small shawls

Jenolan Caves Imperial electricals.jpg|Remains of early electric lighting can still be seen

Caves-House-Accommodation-at-Jenolan-Caves.jpg|Historic hotel, Jenolan Caves House, offers a range of tourist accommodation

One-of-Jenolan's-Many-Show-Caves.jpg|Jenolan offers a range of tourist show caves

Etymology

Indigenous culture

European discovery

Caves

Tourism

Jenolan Caves House

Heritage listing

Gallery

See also

References

Bibliography

Attribution

External links